RTNDA’s ‘Communicator’ gets new look, entire issues now online

The Radio-Television News Directors Association has revamped the look of its magazine, “Communicator.”

The print version of the publication now sports a new logo and matching inside design that’s trendy, colorful and modern. The publication regularly features themed issues on set design and graphics as well as other TV new gear and services.

However, most interesting is the decision to post a PDF of the entire issue online. RTNDA has long hailed Communicator as a valuable members-only benefit (and it’s rather expensive to join the organization).

According to a column in the latest edition, RTNDA has seen declining membership and reduced staff in an effort to save money. No doubt these troubles stem from the overall challenges facing TV news and the economy as a whole. The column also mentions RTNDA will be beefing up the online component of Communicator. This comes on the heels of of a much-hyped and mostly disappointing redesign of the organization’s Web site. It will be interesting to see if these online boost materializes since the publishing industry as a whole often promises this type of expansion but often fails to deliver.

RTNDA also recently cut back the number of times Communicator is published per year and the magazine’s average page count has declined over the recent years as both content and advertising have been reduced.